Back to Shadow Lake
by Tori Atkins
Summary: After about eight years, the old and new Babysitters Club makes their return to Shadow Lake in Massachusetts. Karen receives news about her beloved stepsister, Hannah, Margo, Mary Anne and Abby are involved in fights, and Jen and Archie are busy with a th
1. Prologue Karen

A/N: I hope you like this story! It will be way more interesting than my first fic, I promise.

Ding dong! I finished zipping up my travel bag and lugged it downstairs. Looks like no one's going to lift a freaking finger to open the door. So, I flipped the door open and guess that I saw?

I'm probably going too fast for you to understand, right? Okay, so I'm Karen Brewer. I'm fifteen years old and I just graduated the tenth grade. You already know the basics about me, so why don't I just skip to what you actually need to know.

Every year my family goes down to Shadow Lake, ever since the year me and my stepbrother David Michael were seven years old. The first year we went the whole Babysitters Club, that included my step sister Kristy, went. But the last few years there has been a limit to one friend each.

Since this past year my friends and I formed the new generation of the Babysitters Club. So my dad, Watson said that just like old times our whole new club can go on the trip. I at first didn't believe that Dad would let Kristy's club, now twenty two and twenty years old, come. But he did!

This is who is going: me, Nancy Dawes, Hannah Papadakis, Maria KIlbourne, Melody Korman, Margo Pike, Suzi Barrett, Claire Pike, Jen Prezzioso, Archie Rodowsky, Myriah Perkins, (breath) Kristy, Claudia Kishi, Mary Anne Spier, Dawn Schafer, Stacey McGill, Shannon Kilbourne, Jessi Ramsey, Mallory Pike, Abby Stevenson, Emily Michelle Brewer my adopted sister, Marnie Barrett, my brother Andrew Brewer, Jamie Newton, Danny Dawes, Lucy Newton, David Michael, Buddy Barrett my boyfriend, Sam and Charlie Thomas my stepbrothers, and lastly Watson and my step mom, Elizabeth. Good thing we have five cars to drive up to Shadow Lake!

At the door step there were basically all the people living on our side of Stoneybrook, Connecticut. (A.k.a. Hannah, Maria, Shannon and Melody.) If you piled their things one on top of the other they would likely reach the sky!

"Um, hi," I said. "Let's go out to the picnic table with all our crap." This was going to be some crazy vacation!


	2. Margo

2. Margo

"Ew! That's gross!" I've heard that all my life and needless to say, I'm getting pretty sick of it all.

'Pretty sick of it' is not a play on words. I have had airsickness, carsickness; you name it—as long as I can remember.

Hello, my name is Margo Elizabeth Pike. I am sixteen years old and am so close to the legal driving age, it's scary. I have two sisters. Claire Mariah Pike is the youngest sister and my only younger sister. Mallory Sarah: I don't know her middle name: Pike is my oldest sisters. My sisters are fourteen and twenty years old.

We are on the road to Shadow Lake in Massachusetts. I am in Karen's step mom, Elizabeth's car. Elizabeth's car was the one in the front, so when she pulled over in front of the Rosebud Café, they all pulled over. And the word spread----it was because of me Margo Pike, the Barf Bag.

It sucks having a bad or just gross reputation.

Anyway, my seating arrangement sucked really badly, too. There was Elizabeth, Melody, me, Mal, Jessi, David Michael and Buddy.

Of course, Mal and Jessi had to "catch up on things." The whole BSC came to our house for Thanksgiving, but that was the first time they had seen each other in a long while.

"For my 20th birthday, I got an SUV! Aren't my parents the greatest?" Jessi was saying.

Mal frowned She frowned a lot these days. "Comparing my parents to yours is unfair," she declared. "My parents are already dealing with Adam, Byron and Jordan's and my tuition. And this year she has to come up with Vanessa's…."

"I get it," Jessi was trying not to raise her voice. "I mean, Squirt is only eight, and Becca's seventeen……."

"Well, good," Mal said. "I'm glad you finally see my point of view in this situation." Jessi rolled her eyes. Mal has been wicked moody ever since her first book was rejected.

David Michael and Buddy are another story. I thought girls talked way more than boys….but I was wrong! "Did you get a new paint gun?"

"NO, did you?"

"Uh-uh, mom gave me a skateboard."

"An _Element _skateboard, right?"

"Ya, very high speed….."

I leaned forward. "Psst….Melody….who made this fricken' seating plan anyway?"

"Melody shrugged. "I don't know some loser……"

"Probably Karen!" I exclaimed.

Melody rolled her eyes. "Yeah, Karen always wants to do everything with this club!"

"Sounds like Kristy," Mallory added her input, nodding knowingly.

"Mmm-hmm, she'd get sooo mad if we were late by only a minute for a meeting," Jessi said.

"I'm sure Kristy doesn't say anything like that to Karen. Old memories----"I hinted.

"Right, like, 'Hey Karen, I was really bossy when I first started the BSC. Are you like that?' " Melody remarked.

Then we just went our separate ways. Moldy put on her headphones, which are actually a plain and simple piece of crap. The volume button was messed up. I could hear "1, 2 Step" blasting the whole ride, all fuzzy.

_Dear Mom,_

_I'm in the car, on the way to Shadow Lake. I hear the cabin is huge._

_XOXOXOX0,_

_Margo_

"This is it!" it seemed like forever before Elizabeth said those fantastic words.

I looked out at the huge cabin right by the lake. "So, really? This is it, Mrs. Brewer?"

Elizabeth threw her hands in the air, as soon as she parked the car right next to her hubby. But she was smiling. "Yes. Now, call me Elizabeth."

I sighed and opened the car's sliding door. It took awhile but eventually everyone was dragging their belongings up to the cabin.

"Last year we built onto this place," Watson was explaining, "Two other large rooms were built, with four pairs of bunk beds in each" If the Brewers didn't have millions they wouldn't be able to do any of this.

Karen went and opened the screen door. "This is what Dad and I thought," she announced. "Only one room belongs to the guys in order for the girls to actually fit. So, boys, just stake out the room for yourselves."

I chose the room next to the boys. My roommates were Lucy, Claudia, Dawn Stacey and Maria. Maria and I were the only two that got a bunk to ourselves (I mean, out of the whole place.)

Lucy was whining and just in general blabbing. Claudia, Dawn and Stacey talked all night. Maria acted like the queen of the world. Some vacation……….


	3. Maria

3. Maria

A lot of people think that seventeen is a grown up age. But whether you're eight or my age, others never understand you.

Take today for instance. My roommates (car mates?) were fine. Three of my friends and two 22 year olds aren't bad. We just talked about sexy guys and stuff (my current hottie is Shane Jordan.) Then we follow Karen the Ring Leader into this huge cabin on "Shadow Lake."

I get into my room and there's Margo, Complainer Extraordinaire, Claudia, Dawn, Stacey and Lucy, this miniature kid who forces us to NOT talk about inappropriate things (for nine year olds.)

Then there's dinner. Holy crap, the table must be five feet long. It has to be. Who decided upon inviting all these people to what was supposed to be a family vacation? Probably Karen. I'm going to stab her, this is so gay.

"So," Watson said, "What is everyone planning on doing tomorrow?"

"Oh, Dad, duh," Karen replied brightly. "We're all babysitting!" I groaned and rolled my eyes. Sometimes babysitting seems sooo dorky.

"There are too many babysitters to go around," Watson joked. Only Lucy and Danny needed to be watched.

"We could switch off, each having to watch them one day!" Kristy cried. Like stepsister, like stepsister? Um.

Dinner was silent the rest of the way. Can you believe it? We ate the dinner that Watson prepared without a word. I raised my eyebrow at Karen, the talker. She continued to keep her mouth shut.

"Bedtime!" Lucy cried when we were all back in the room. Maria, can you read me a story? Margo, will you help me undress? Gosh, I love it when my babysitters are here!"

Claudia laughed. "Hey, at one time we were your sitters too!" She motioned to Stacey and Dawn.

"Really! How old was i?" Lucy all but squealed.

Stacey flipped her short, layered blonde hair. "We first started sitting for your family when Jamie was three years old. When you were born, we always watched both you guys."

"Wow, I was little," Lucy commented. _I was her age now when the BSC sat for my friends and I, I was little, _I thought.

When we thought Lucy was in the bathroom, Margo and I started talking.

"Oh, my God. Being single sucks," she said.

"Well, there's nothing wrong with the way you look" I replied brightly. Sometimes being optimistic is hard, but I can deal with it.

"No offense Maria, but you kind of dress like a slut sometimes."

I DID take some offense to that. "Uh, no. And maybe the way I dress helps me to get the guy, which you don't have."

"Maybe the way you dress helps you not to keep a boyfriend for more than two months."

_What is her problem? _"At least I have a boyfriend!" That shut her up.

"Who has a boyfriend? Do you kiss a lot?" Without warning, Lucy jumped out of the bathroom in her purple unicorn night shirt.

_At least she doesn't know sex in detail yet, _I mouthed to Margo. _WE don't want her asking about that._

Margo nodded. "I have to…..take a shower!" I ran out, grabbing my robe.

"You took one just a while ago!" Dawn called to me. Apparently she was not paying attention before.

"Shut it!" Margo hissed.

_Somewhere to go! That did not have little nine year olds in it! _Myriah and Jen's room was out. Marnie and Emily (cringe) eleven year olds scare me, especially when they try to act all cool.

I creaked open the door and everybody stared at me! I mean, I looked around and there are the eyes of Hannah, Karen, Melody, Nancy, Shannon, Abby, Jessi and Mal. Whoa.

"Get out," Shannon finally said. "You're not mature enough for our conversation."

"Shannon, God! All my friends are in here and you're still conversing with them in there!" You'd think after Tiffany got pregnant and left, we'd be closer as sisters. Unfortunately, we're not.

"Well, duh. I can just ignore them. But you, well, are hard to ignore!" My senses told me that she was staring at my outfit. What was so wrong with a connecting tee/strappy tank, and a long (ENOUGH) tiered mini skirt? I was going to wear my flip flops but was too lazy after I realized I had already packed them to dig them out again. That's how I ended up wearing these black heely things.

I shrugged. "I'm assuming you haven't seen Jen's ensemble yet." Following a remark that is witty or makes her interested, I leave.

Dawn was tucking Lucy into bed, the back of her shirt visible. "Reduce, Reuse, And Recycle". Following Shannon's description of Dawn, she hadn't changed much.

"Why isn't your hair wet?" Lucy jumped up, the blanket cover falling off.

"I uh, blow dried it."

"Oh, okay. Good night, babysitters!" The moment we'd all been waiting for. Lucy fell asleep.

A lot of people think seventeen is a grown up age. But it is just a confusing age. Your 22 year old sister thinks she's too old for you. Yet you're fifteen and sixteen year old friends seem too young for you at times. Oh, fine. Life is just confusing.


End file.
